The Stormcaller
February 26, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Great Science Fiction Novels
I have a love/hate relationship with multi-book stories. On the one hand, thank goodness finishing the first or second book doesn’t mean the ending of a relationship with the world and characters with whom I’ve been spending time and have made friends.
On the other hand, if the series is brand new, I really, really hate [...]
Astro-Event of the Week; February 23rd-March 1st; A Close Conjunction.
February 23, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Astro News & Commentary, Weekly Astro-events
Looking West from North America at Sunset on the 27th. (Credit: Starry Night).
Lots of happenings in this last week of February… the pick for the astro-event of the week was a toughie. I choose the Friday close conjunction/occultation of Venus and the Moon, as it’s one of the closest of the year! And [...]
The Downing of Spirit ‘03; Did the Moon Play a Role?
February 19, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Astro News, Astro News & Commentary, Astronomers' Tales, Observational Astronomy
Dawn Patrol…an AC-130H out of Hurlburt Field, Florida (Credit:USAF/James Dale).
1991 was a busy year for Air Force Special Operations. Fresh off of the success of Panama, AC-130H gunships based out of Hurlbert Field were dispatched to the Arabian peninsula in late 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield, later to become the shooting [...]
Astro-Event of the Week; February 16th-22nd, 2009; Here comes Comet Lulin!
February 16, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Astro News & Commentary, Weekly Astro-events
Comet Lulin Finder Chart for Feb 16th-22nd. (Credit: Starry Night).
Set your alarm clocks; what may be the best comet of the year is currently gracing the early morning skies. Comet Lulin 2007 N3 can be found in the constellation Virgo, and currently rises shortly after midnight. This places it well for observation high [...]
Review: Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne
February 12, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Astro Culture, Great Books of Science
(Editor’s Note: the promised “The Moon Phase & the Gunship” has been nudged a week. Read on, and you’ll see why!)
In stores now… (Credit: Viking Press).
I vividly remember my first encounter with the concept of evolution.
When I was a kid, about 6 or 7 or so, I was thumbing through a set of glossy encyclopedias [...]
AstroEvent of the Week, February 8th-15th, 2009; A Penumbral Eclipse.
February 8, 2009 by David Dickinson
Filed under Astro News & Commentary, Weekly Astro-events
The Great Penumbral of ‘02; Before and During. See the Difference? (Photos by Author).
This weeks’ astro-event of the week isn’t exactly a real barn-burner, but is always interesting to note, none the less; a penumbral eclipse of the Moon. This occurs around 14:38 Universal Time on Monday, the 9th of February as [...]
